Ebony's stomach growled as her aunt placed the plates of food on the table. Tonight's dinner was fried chicken, corn bread, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. It was as if Thanksgiving came soon, because these were all Ebony's favorite dishes. Ebony licked her lips in anticipation.
Her entire family was gathered around the table, waiting to fest into the dinner. Ebony's grandmother saw the anxiousness in her eyes and frowned.
"Ebony, baby, calm down. The food will be here in just a minute." She scolded. Tameka looked up and pouted.
"Ma, she hasn't ate alll day and you know this is her favorite. Lay off of her."
"Mhhhmmm. Well, I just don't want her to drool on my tablecloth." Ebony's grandmother snapped back. Tameka rolled her eyes and walked away. Her mother always had that mean and snappy attitude, but since she has became ill, it's in her destiny to take care of her fragile mother.
If it weren't for her mother's sickness, she would have kicked her to the curb a long time ago. Times like this, jobless and living under her mother's roof, is where she missed her ex-husband. It seemed like they had it all and at a flash, it was all gone. Her entire dreams completely shattered.
Parish put the hot plate of cripsy golden fried chicken at the center of the table. Ebony's grandmother frowned.
"Parish, what the hell? This chicken ain't cooked. This bird still flying." She complained. The way Ebony's grandmother was raised, when you fried chicken, it needed to be a dark brown color. Almost burnt, to be more accurate.
"Momma, what you talking about? This chicken is cooked to perfection. Nobody likes your burnt chicken." Parish shot back. Ebony's grandmother wasn't even surprised at Parish's quick response. Parish has always had a smart mouth.
"No, Parish, this chicken ain't right. Ain't no cooked chicken supposed look like this. I bet if you tear the chicken open, it will bleed."
"Stop complaining, because you still gon' eat it anyway." Parish said. Ebony's grandmother frowned and looked over Apryl. Apryl was too busy texting on her iPhone to pay attention to what was going on.
"Ay girl! You not gon' help yo' momma in the kitchen?" She yelled. Apryl gave her a confused look and flipped her silky weave over her shoulder.
"No. She got it. She told me to go sit down." Apryl shrugged.
"Parish! Why you ain't let this child help you in the kitchen?"
"Ma, you know I don't like when people are in the kitchen when I'm trying to work my magic. We've been over this a thousand times." Apryl replied calmly, placing the bowl of collard greens on the table, next to the fried chicken. Ebony inhaled the food and closed her eyes. She felt like she was in heaven.
Soon, Parish came back into the dining room with the pan of baked macaroni. As soon as the pan sat on the table, everyone scrambled, trying to fix themselves a plate.
"Just in case anyone is curious, the corn bread is sitting on the stove. Y'all can get a piece, I guess, when you guys finish your food." Parish announced.
"Girl, hush and eat." Ebony's grandmother shooed. Parish rolled her eyes and dug into her plate. Ebony took a bite of everything on her plate. She fluttered her eyes closed and savored each bite. Only one word can describe this entreé: scrumptious.
"Ebony, girl, what are you doing? Making love to the food?" Apryl joked. Ebony laughed, looking at her cousin sitting across from her.
"I wish I could. You know your mother can throw down in the kitchen." Ebony looked over at her aunt and gave her a huge smile. Parish returned the favor. Ebony's grandmother looked down at the food and frowned.
"Where the rolls at?" She asked, smacking on the collard greens. Parish gave her a small, fake smile.
"I didn't make any. You know that." Parish responded.
"Mmm. Well I need my rolls. I can't eat my dinner without them and you know that." Ebony's grandmother, Edna, snapped back.
"Ma, just eat." Tameka interjected. Edna hushed and ate her chicken breast. She looked around the table until her eyes landed on Ebony. She started to stare, but not because she was stuffed the food down her throat like she would never eat again. Edna spotted the knot on Ebony's upper lip.
"Ebony,baby, what happened to your lip? Did someone hit you?" Edna asked, causing everyone to stop and look at Ebony. Ebony froze and sat her fork down.
"I ran into a pole at school. Just a simple mistake." Ebony replied nervously. Edna glanced at Ebony, feeling in her heart there was more to this story.
"You sure?"
"Yes, grandma." Ebony went back to eating. Edna stared at her some more before she also went back to consuming her dinner.
Eight o' clock rolled around and Ebony was preparing for bed. Sometimes she would go to bed at nine, but most of the time it was at eight. Dressed in her light pink pajama set, she kneeled down by her grandmother's bedside praying. It was something her and her grandmother had done since she was old enough to talk. They always prayed before bed, and they always did it together.
"Amen." Ebony declared, finishing her prayer. Edna lifted her head up and looked over at her granddaughter.
"Good job,baby. Now, its time for you to go to bed." Ebony nodded, got off of Edna's purple rug, and walked towards the bedroom door.
"Wait, baby, come back." Edna called out. Ebony paused and turned around.
"Come sit on the bed with me, baby." Ebony walked over to Edna's bed and sat beside her grandmother. Edna lifted Ebony's chin and stared her in the eyes.
"Now, tell me what really happened to your lip. And I know you ain't ran into a pole. Be honest." Edna said. Ebony sighed. Tears burned the back of her eyes as she received flashbacks of the abuse at school. It was hurtful to Ebony. No one should be bullied continously, just because they have darker skin. Ebony loved her coffee complexion, but the treatment she receives at school makes her despise it sometimes.
Edna saw the frustration on Ebony's face. She could tell there was something deeper than just walking into a pole on accident.
"You are a very beautiful girl. Such a gorgeous young lady. Never feel down because of your skin. Your skin is beautiful. And guess what? Just because you're darker doesn't make you any less of a human.
I remember back in the day when I, myself would get teased for having dark skin. It had an effect on me, espicially since at that time, white supremacy was probably at its all-time high. Segregation was in its prime, and alot of black people I knew started to lose confidence in their brown skin.
I know you are going through something tough at school. I went through the same thing,too. But once I found the confidence to fight them off, the bullying stopped. Let me give you some advice." Edna told Ebony. An involuntary tear slid down Ebony's right cheek.
"First of all, stop crying. Excuse my language, but crying doesn't solve shit. It makes you weak. You are a strong, beautiful black empress. Act like such and view yourself as one." Edna demanded. Ebony wiped her tear away and listened to the rest of her grandmother's testimony.
"Second of all, when you look in the mirror, regardless of what people think, hold your head high and be proud of who you are. Never seem weak. Never seem insecure. Never seem doubtful. When you carry any of those characteristics, espicially when you walk, people will prey on you and see you as an easy target.
Last but not least, you need to start fighting if you can't get your point across. Don't be afraid to serve anybody a two-piece, espicially if they put their hands on you. That's a free ticket to AssWhoopingVille. When people start to disrespect you and take you as a joke, start fighting. Just swing. Back in my day, I had to pop and drop plenty of girls just because they talked too much. Bet you they learned then." Edna glanced over at Ebony and noticed she still had a sad and stale facial expression.
"Moral of the story, this society never wants to see a dark skin girl prosper. Hell, the whole world never wants to see a dark skin girl prosper. The world's biggest fear is a black, educated female with ultimate and superior power. You rise above that. Don't let your skin define you or put you into a category. Always rise above it all. And remember, ain't nothing wrong with a dark skin girl. The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice." Edna commented. Ebony smiled a little.
"And the better the pussy." Edna added. Ebony became disgusted.
"Grandma! Eeeww!" Ebony yelled. Edna threw her hands up in defeat.
"Hey, I'm just keeping it real. Remember that and guys will flock to you like maggots on rotten flesh." Ebony gave her grandmother a hug.
"I love you, Grandma." Ebony said.
"I love you too, my beautiful black china doll. Goodnight, sweetheart." Edna replied, crawling underneath the yellow skin covers. Ebony tucked her in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Clicking the lamp off, Ebony strutted out of the bedroom and into her own. As she laid her delicate head on her hot pink satin pillow, her grandmother's powerful words replayed in her mind.
I hope I'm not losing you guys interest with this book. This may not be all suspenseful and whatnot, but this book definitely will have some drama in it. Please don't sleep on me. Anyways, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Lemme know.